WeAreEndo.org - The Social Support Network for People Living with Endometriosis

I've had painful/heavy periods since my cycle began when I was 12 years old.  My Mom would take me to the Dr. when I was doubled over and crying in pain.  They'd always tell me to take some ibuprofen, but never really got any answers nor relief.  I was put on birth control at age 15 which helped a little bit, and then was put on a newer birth control at the time called Seasonale which only lets you have your period every 3 months.  That seemed to help.  When my fiance (now husband) and I decided to wanted children (yes, before we were married..his Dad was in Afghanistan, long story) I stopped the pill and assumed I'd get pregnant right away.  Well that didn't happen.  After 1 year of trying unsuccessfully I went to an OB-GYN.  He ordered all sorts of tests for both my husband and I.  He did a pelvic exam and I was a little tender around my cervix, so he said I probably had minor endo, but nothing major enough to cause infertility.  After going through more tests for another year and everything coming out normal, I was put on the fertility drug, Clomid.  I was on that for 3 mos and nothing was happening.  My Dr decided to get an ultrasound to make sure I wasn't developing cysts.  We got the ultrasound report back and I had 3 endometriomas on my ovaries!  He wanted me to come in for an office visit to "discuss the options." When he told me I had endometriomas and a lot of blood in my culdesac, I said "Surgery right?" scared to death because I'm an Operating Room Nurse and I've never been on the "other side of the table" He gave me a few other options and I went home and finally decided surgery was the best option and at least insurance would pay for it, unlike fertility treatments.  So I had the surgery on May 15, 2009.  He found what he called Stage 2 Endo.  I have quite a bit of endo on my left uterosacral ligament, some in my culdesac, both ovaries, uterus, and adhesions which were making my bowel stick to my left ovary.  He lasered the endo off, and took down the bowel from my ovary.  I'm feeling really optimistic about getting pregnant now.  It's been a total of 30 mos since we first started trying to get pregnant.  My Dr is hoping now I'll be able to get pregnant naturally without any meds!  I guess we'll see what the coming months bring!

I'm 22 years old and married my boyfriend of 6 years last March.  We live together with our 5 dogs, yes 5 :)  We have 2 yellow labs and 3 chihuahuas.  We are both huge animal people..our dogs are like our babies!  We enjoy camping, riding 4-wheelers and going to the lake in the Summer.  We bought a house last August and are currently remodeling it.  A lot of fun, but lots and lots of work :)  We need something to keep us busy!  

I'm an RN in the Operating Room.  I started right after graduating nursing school when I was 20 years old. (I dropped out of highschool @ 15 years old and started nursing school at 16 years old) I absolutely love my job!  I've learned an amazing amount about myself while working there, as well as about nursing and healthcare in general. 

I've wanted children since I was, honestly, 16 years old.  Since I've been with my husband for so long, it was always hard to wait.  My main plan was to graduate nursing school with a good job and have babies right away after that.  We started trying a few months before graduation, but never did get pregnant.  For now, we are just trying to keep ourselves convinced that everything happens for a reason.  

"Everywhere in nature we are taught the lessons of patience and waiting. We want things a long time before we get them, and the fact that we want them a long time makes them all the more precious when they come." -Joseph F. Smith

Operating Room RN

My newest favorite movie is Stepbrothers.. Even after watching it 50 times, it never fails to make me laugh! 

I love the "A Child Called It" books.. I also enjoy reading The Chicken Soup for the Soul books.

May 15, 2008

No

Yes

Yes

October 31, 1998

Cramping with menstruation, Pelvic fullness/bloating.

Too soon to tell

Diagnostic Laparoscopy with Laser

Regular

Michael Hay, MD